Headlines
Diesel slips 6 cents to $6.292, with every region lowerPort of Los Angeles posts busiest month in its history as imports climbShippers paid 32.1% more to move freight in Q3 on just 0.5% more volume, U.S. Bank index showsVincent Thomas Bridge set to close for 16 months: What port truckers need to knowDry van spot rates climb to $2.23 a mile as load-to-truck ratio nears 11ISM: U.S. factory growth speeds up in October, with production at its fastest since 2021Section 232 on robotics and industrial machinery: talks first, no new tariffs yetCanadian freight rail prices up 14.1% from a year ago in October, intermodal up 18.5%BMO closes truck finance sale to Stonepeak; C$11 billion of loans move to new Longview Capital SolutionsNew proclamation drops 22 Canadian product lines from the 50% duty and adds 100 moreSchneider moves its main eastern intermodal business to Norfolk SouthernRXO pushes spot mix to 51% and posts its biggest jump in gross profit per load in four years
TransportNewsCA · US · MX corridorFreight markets and cross-border tradeWednesday, November 4, 2026
ArchiveRates

Spot truckload rates rise for third straight month in June

DAT reported in July 2024 that June spot rates climbed for all three equipment types even as load volumes pulled back from May records.

By Transport News Staff · Added to the archive

In July 2024, DAT Freight & Analytics reported that national average spot truckload rates rose in June for the third consecutive month, even as the number of loads moved declined. DAT released the report on July 17.

Volumes ease from May highs

The DAT Truckload Volume Index retreated from all-time highs for van and refrigerated loads set in May. The van index was 266, down 9% from May. Reefer was 199, down 11%, and flatbed was 279, down 7%.

From a year earlier, the van and flatbed indexes were down 3% and 5%. The reefer index was up 7% from June 2023.

Ken Adamo, DAT's chief of analytics, said June "ended strong for dry van freight," with nearly 25% more volume moving in the final week of the month than a year earlier. He said DAT expected freight activity to ease during the summer and called it "a challenging market for freight carriers and brokers."

Spot and contract rates

Spot rates in June:

  • Van: $2.07 a mile, up 6 cents
  • Reefer: $2.45 a mile, up 4 cents
  • Flatbed: $2.53 a mile, up 1 cent

Line-haul rates, which subtract an amount equal to an average fuel surcharge, also rose. Van line-haul was $1.64 a mile, up 6 cents. Reefer rose 5 cents to $1.99, and flatbed rose 1 cent to $2.02.

Contract van rates ticked up 1 cent to $2.44 a mile, and contract reefer rose 2 cents to $2.81. Contract flatbed fell 2 cents to $3.14.

What it meant for carriers

Van and reefer load-to-truck ratios rose for the fourth straight month. DAT said that reflected a combination of higher demand and fewer trucks in the marketplace. The van ratio was 4.7, up from 4.4 in May, and the reefer ratio was 7.0, up from 6.3. The flatbed ratio fell to 14.6 from 18.0.

All three ratios were higher than a year earlier, when the van ratio was 3.5, reefer 5.5 and flatbed 13.3.

We use Google Analytics to count visits, but only if you accept. This site runs no advertising. Read more